Dearka Elsman
is a fictional character in the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED series. Dearka is the pilot of the stolen Buster Gundam and engages the ''Archangel'' as a member of the Le Creuset Team throughout the First Alliance-PLANT War. During the Second Alliance-PLANT War he is assigned to the Joule Team, commanded by Yzak Joule. Dearka's father, Tad Elsman, is a member of the PLANT Supreme Council, representing the PLANT Febuarius, and a supporter of Patrick Zala during the First Alliance-PLANT War. Dearka's initial negative view of Naturals are shared by his father. Personality & Character Dearka has a humorous and somewhat arrogant personality, especially towards Naturals, who he initially referred to as "weaklings" with his usual sarcasm. Commander Le Creuset indirectly refers to Yzak and Dearka not being model soldiers, which is why he prefers them to Nicol and Athrun. Being a lot alike, especially in their views towards Naturals, Dearka often backs his more verbally direct teammate and friend, Yzak, in any quarrels amongst the four of them. After Gundam SEED Destiny however, Dearka begins to act less of a stimulant for Yzak's temper and attempts to calm him when he loses his temper, especially towards Athrun. After his first-hand experiences aboard the Archangel, especially with the CIC officer Miriallia Haw, Dearka re-evaluates his opinions towards the Naturals and realizes that all human life is equally worth protecting. Skills & Abilities Dearka is an extremely skilled pilot, as he is a ZAFT red and a member of the elite Le Creuset and Joule teams (later promoted to Black uniform). He specializes in long range combat, using mobile suits with heavy weaponry such as the GAT-X103 Buster Gundam. He has some close range abilities as he is seen piloting his custom black ZGMF-1001/M Blaze ZAKU Phantom and defeating a number of mobile suits and battleships. He is able to match highly skilled pilots such as Mu La Flaga and Yzak Joule. He is also able to hold his own against extended pilots. After his Buster is damaged during the First Alliance-PLANT War, he switches to a ZGMF-1000/A1 Gunner ZAKU Warrior which is also a long range mobile suit. In the last phases of the Second Alliance-PLANT War he switches to a black colored ZGMF-1001/M Blaze ZAKU Phantom. History Beginning of the War During his time at the military academy, Dearka placed third in the Le Creuset team. The Le Creuset Team infiltrated the Orb colony Heliopolis. At a Morgenroete factory, they locate the five Earth Alliance mobile suits. Dearka took the Buster and escaped back to the Vesalius. However, only four of the mobile suits were captured; the last one, the Strike, unknown to them, was being piloted by an Orb Coordinator named Kira Yamato. Battles with the Archangel With the Buster Dearka took place in multiple battles with the Archangel. Most of the time Dearka stood toe to toe in battle with Mu La Flaga. In the Artemis base Nicol used Mirage Colloid to sneak into the base and destroy the lightwave barrier generators. When Dearka and Yzak joined him together they destroyed the base. When the Archangel was going to descend to earth the Le Creuset team intercepted the Archangel with the 8th Fleet. Dearka and the others destroyed multiple battleships when the Archangel descended to earth. When Kira Yamato launched in his GAT-X105 Strike Gundam Yzak chased him until they both got caught in the Earth's gravitational pull. Luckily they both survived. They both were sent to the "Desert Tiger" Andrew Waltfeld. They took part in the last battle with the Archangel in the desert. In the sea Dearka and Yzak reunited with Athrun and Nicol. Multiple battles took place against the Archangel until the battleship docked in the Orb Union. The Angel's Prisoner After an unsuccessful search for the Archangel in the Orb Union, the Le Creuset team continue to fight Kira Yamato and his GAT-X105 Strike Gundam. After his Buster Gundam was damaged by Mu La Flaga's FX-550 Skygrasper and with the Archangel's main guns locked on him, Dearka was forced to surrender. Dearka is then held captive on the Archangel, until the ship defects to the Orb Union. During this time he befriends Miriallia Haw and though she attacked him in anger, when she saw Flay Allster wielding a gun and preparing to kill Dearka due to her hatred for Coordinators, Miriallia tackled Flay and saved his life. Prior to fighting against the Earth Alliance to protect Orb, the Archangel crew decided to release Dearka as they had no reason to keep him. He was then freed by Miriallia, who also informed him that his Buster had been taken back to Morgenroete for repairs. Return to the Battlefield Wandering around on Orb, Dearka witnessed the battle between Orb forces, including the Archangel, against the Alliance's forces. He then recalled Miriallia's words and decided to retake his Buster and fights with the Archangel. After they failed to protect Orb, they headed into space. During the Battle of Mendel, he confronts his close friend Yzak Joule, who accuses him of betraying both ZAFT and the PLANTs. Dearka admits he really is not betraying them, it is just that after being in the Archangel's brig he learned to gain some respect for the Naturals after befriending Miriallia when she saved his life. Dearka knows he can't return to ZAFT because of Patrick Zala's current goal of exterminating all of the Naturals since he has now decided to refuse to follow orders of killing Naturals indiscriminately. Although Yzak refused to believe it and thinks that Dearka is being deceived, Dearka responds by questioning who among the two of them is truly being deceived. During the Second Battle of Jachin Due, Buster is heavily damaged in battle, but survives thanks to Yzak who got him back to the Archangel. Rather than rest in the medical bay, Dearka decided to observe the remainder of the battle on the Archangel's bridge. After the war, Dearka decided to return to ZAFT now that the PLANTs were under stable leadership again. Gundam SEED Destiny Dearka reappears in Phase-05, as Yzak's right hand man aboard the Nazca-class battleship, Voltaire. The Joule Team was sent to demolish the ruins of Junius Seven, which were on a crash course to Earth due to the tampering of extremist followers of Patrick Zala. Dearka was sent out to lead the rest of the Joule Team in setting Meteor Breakers up all around the destroyed colony. The Minerva was sent in to aid them, and was at the time carrying Athrun Zala on board, and they are soon bombarded by the extremists. Fighting in his customized Gunner ZAKU Warrior, they manage to stop the attack of the extremists and Phantom Pain, but not quickly enough to finish the demolition of the Junius Seven ruins. The ruins fall to Earth, causing mass destruction throughout the planet. The Earth Alliance launches a preemptive attack on the PLANTs after these events, and the Joule Team joins in the mass defense against them. As they hold one team off, the Alliance sneaks a second team in from a different direction, armed with nuclear missiles. Shocked, Dearka and Yzak rush in to try and stop them, but are unable to make it. Luckily, ZAFT was armed with a new weapon, the Neutron Stampeder, which takes all of the ships out. Following these events, Athrun was facing indecisiveness at Gilbert's offer to allow him back into ZAFT, pretty new mobile suit and all. He gets a visit from Dearka and Yzak, and he explains that if he wants to go out, his stay was still considered a visit by someone from a foreign country, and with recent events it was a precaution of sorts, so they were sent for that reason, also because somebody (most likely Chairman Durandal) knew about the relationship between the three. They go to visit the graves of Nicol, Miguel and Rusty, and talk about recent events. Dearka and Yzak explain that it can't be helped that ZAFT had then declared their right to aggressive self-defense, because the Alliance attempted to destroy the PLANTs with nuclear weapons. When Athrun is asked to return to ZAFT again, it's explained that both Dearka and Yzak faced a number of problems after the first war, but Gilbert stood by them and said that youths such as themselves shouldn't be punished for the actions started by their leaders, and that because of what they've been through, they should be the ones entrusted with the future. Dearka explains that's why he's still in ZAFT, because he knows he could make something of it for the sake of the PLANTs and his friends, just like Yzak does. During this time it is suggested that Miriallia broke off her relationship with Dearka sometime ago, as she couldn't stand people who try to nitpick and complain about the choices she makes with her life. When LOGOS is pronounced as the background cause of all of these conflicts by profiting on the economy of warfare, Yzak is visibly irritated by these events. When he snaps at a group of soldiers for taking the situation lightly, Dearka tries to calm him down and remarks that his head is going to explode one day, with his temper. Around the time that Lacus Clyne finally reveals herself to the world against Meer who had been impersonating her up until then, ZAFT forces are sent out to battle against the Alliance, who had deployed strange, cylinder shaped things toward PLANT. Dearka launches with the Joule Team determined to destroy these objects that the Alliance are trying to protect. They turn out to be part of the Requiem, a giant laser on the moon that then fires and destroys six PLANTs; four direct hits, two more from the impact of the four. Dearka and Yzak barely make it out of the way of the Requiem's beam, and then watch in helpless horror as over a million and a half people are killed in front of their eyes. Dearka and the Joule Team passionately follow Yzak's order to take out the Gounods before the Requiem can fire again at all costs. When ZAFT launches a counter-attack, Dearka and the Joule Team fight as hard as they can. In the final battle, Dearka playfully asks Yzak what they were doing, and if they planned on launching and getting themselves killed. Yzak calls him stupid and tells him that he shouldn't have sortied if he's going to think like that, and then follows him out to the battlefield. They run into Athrun again, and Dearka tries to calm Yzak down, who is angry that he came back like this again and explains that they were all out there and aiming to do the same thing; destroy the relay station. Yzak orders Dearka and his team to defend the Eternal, stating that it was a ZAFT ship, and warns them away from the Messiah's line-of-fire. When the battle comes to an end, and once everything settles down, Dearka stays aboard the Voltaire and watches the ship while Yzak escorts Lacus Clyne back to the PLANTs. At the end when Lacus is escorted into the council room, one of the soldiers in line is Dearka in a black commander uniform. Relationships Earth Alliance Miriallia Haw Dearka started in bad terms with Miriallia when he unknowingly taunts her over Tolle's death, which caused Miriallia to try to kill him. Later, when Flay Allster tries to shoot Dearka, Miriallia prevents her from doing so, saving his life. After Dearka told her that he was not the one who killed Tolle Koenig, Miriallia becomes more friendly towards him. In the beginning of Gundam SEED Destiny it is implied that Dearka was dating Miriallia, but they broke up after 5 months. This is later confirmed in episode 27. ZAFT Yzak Joule Yzak is Dearka's best friend. Dearka and Yazk would agree on mostly everything and Dearka would often go along with what Yzak was doing. When Dearka joined the Clyne Faction, Yzak thought Dearka was a traitor and he was being deceived. However, Dearka managed to convince Yzak otherwise, and during the final battle of the war, opened Yzak's eyes on what was really happening. Quotes Gallery seed_chara_665x731_21.png|Gundam SEED Character Sheet Gundam info Character Sheet Dearka Elsman.png|Gundam SEED Destiny Character Sheet Dearka & Buster Gundam.png|Dearka & Buster Gundam in first opening of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Dearka Piloting.png Dearka and Yzak.png Dearka, Yzak and Athrun.png Dearka Casual.png Yzak and Dearka Casual.png Dearka and Yzak 2.png Yzak and Dearka 4.png Dearka_Black_suite.jpg 10ffgd.jpg 73.jpg Gundam SEED DESTINY Fashion Illustrations (13).jpg|Illustration by Youichi Fukano 095.jpg largeAnimePaperscans_Mobile-Suit-41.jpg oped02.jpg ggggggggggggg.jpg oped10.jpg Deacakkkkk.jpg dearka_elthman_0002.jpg|Pilot suit DearkaCE73BattleDestiny.png DearkaCE71BattleDestiny.png Super Robot Wars T Character Face Portrait 432.png|As seen in Super Robot Wars V N.E.T. Dearka ED.png N.E.T. Dearka OP.png Notes & Trivia *Originally in Gundam SEED, Dearka was a red elite, wearing a red uniform that is given to elite soldiers. In Gundam SEED Destiny, however, he wears the regular green uniform which is given to regular soldiers. Although it was never stated clearly, it was likely that Dearka was demoted to a common soldier as punishment for his defection. Later in the Gundam SEED Destiny ending credits he can be seen wearing a black commander's uniform, suggesting a promotion in the epilogue. *There has been a couple of cases where his voice actor wasn't able to voice him for a game, the first being Super Robot Wars Z, leading to Dearka being unplayable. *In the case of Nicol and Tolle being saved in Super Robot Wars W, his romance with Miriallia doesn't happen but an exchange with someone implies while fond of her, he sees Tolle as the better choice for her, perhaps seeing a relationship with her not ending well. *For the HD Remastered version of Gundam SEED Destiny, Dearka's Gunner ZAKU Warrior is painted black like his Blaze ZAKU Phantom. *Dearka shares the same voice actor as Martin DaCosta, second-in-command of Andrew Waltfeld, namely Akira Sasanuma. *In Gundam SEED Destiny, Dearka shares the same English voice actor as Auel Neider, Brad Swaile. *In the SEED Encyclopedia of Never Ending Tomorrow, it is revealed that Japanese dancing is his hobby, further indicated by the item needed to unlock him as a playable character which is a folding fan. References External links